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TMI Blog2013 (4) TMI 654X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... orporation. Otherwise, there is no need to use these two expressions specifically and separately and, therefore, he contends that prior to Budget 2012, when Notification No.21/2002 was in force, benefit was not be available in case the contracts for road construction were awarded by MMRDA. Held that - In the light of the notifications issued, we hold that prior to budget 2012, benefit of customs duty exemption on road construction equipment was not available in cases where the contract for such construction was awarded by a Metropolitan Development Authority. Thus the appellant in the present case is not eligible for the benefit of duty exemption under notification No. 21/2002-Cus. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal as devoid of merits. - C/1170/2012 - A/11/13/CSTB/C-I - Dated:- 2-1-2013 - P R Chandrasekharan and Anil Choudhary, JJ. For the Appellant: Shri Deepak Kumar, Adv. For the Respondent: Shri V K Agarwal, Addl. Commissioner (AR) The appeal is directed against Order-in-Appeal No: 765/MCH/DC/GR.VA/2012 dated 11/09/2012 passed by the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals), New Custom House, Mumbai. 2. The appellant, M/s. Shreeji Construction imported Hydraulic P ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f communication, transport, supply of water and electricity, any other source of energy, street lighting, drainage, sewerage and conservancy and any other convenience as he State Government in consultation with the authority may from time-to-time by notification in the official gazette specify to be amenity. Since MMRDA is the authority for development of roads in the Mumbai metropolitan region, they should be considered as a road development corporation specified in condition NO. 40 applicable to serial No. 230 of Notification No. 21/2002. The learned counsel further points out that while in the case of other authorities mentioned in condition No. 40, the article used is "the" whereas in respect of road construction corporation the article used is "a". In other words, any corporation which undertakes road construction would be covered by the entry a road construction corporation'. Since they are under the control of the Government of Maharashtra from whom they receive funds, they are eligible for the benefit of Notification mentioned above. 4. The learned Addl. Commissioner (AR) appearing for the Revenue, on the other hand, strongly refutes the arguments made by the appellant. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ritory; or Notification No. No.12/2012 which replaced 21/2002-Cus in the Budget 2012 reads as follows:- S. No. Chapter or Heading or sub-heading or tariff item Description of goods Standard rate Additional duty rate Condition No. 368. 84 or any other Chapter Goods specified in List 16 required for construction of roads Nil Nil 9 9. If,- (a)the goods are imported by- (i)the Ministry of Surface Transport, or (ii) a person who has been awarded a contract for the construction of roads in India by or on behalf of the Ministry of Surface Transport, by the National Highway Authority of India, by the Public Works Department of a State Government, Metropolitan Development Authority or by a road construction corporation under the control of the Government of a State or Union Territory; or 5.2 A reading of the above two notifications makes it clear that prior to budget 2012 the notification specified only the following authorities, namely, National Highway Authority of India, Public Works De ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 4 Functions / Responsibilities Construction and maintenance of roads Development of the metropolitan region and the major projects under taken include transportation, water resources management, public housing, environmental management, urban land policy, industrial growth policy and office location policy 5 Jurisdiction Entire State of Maharashtra Mumbai Metropolitan Region Note: As per information obtained from the web-sites of various road development Corporation and MMRDA Thus both legally and functionally, road development corporation is distinct and different from a Metropolitan authority. Thus to equate MMRDA with a road construction corporation would be an insult both to the common sense and to the said organization, especially when one considers the vast and varied nature of the activities undertaken by the said authority. 5.4 Another argument has been made about the use of the indefinite article a' before the State Road Development Corporation which indicates that the said expression includes all corporations which undertake road development. There is no warrant in law to take such a view. In English langu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or an exempting provision; they have to be construed strictly. A person invoking an exception or an exemption provision to relieve him of the tax liability must establish clearly that he is covered by the said provision. In case of doubt or ambiguity, benefit of it must go to the State. This is for the reason explained in Mangalore Chemicals and other decisions, viz., each such exception/exemption increases the tax burden on other members of the community correspondingly. Once, of course, the provision is found applicable to him, full effect must be given to it. As observed by a Constitution Bench of this Court in Hansraj Gordhandas v. H.H. Dave that such a notification has to be interpreted in the light of the words employed by it and not on any other basis. This was so held in the context of the principle that in a taxing statute, there is no room for any intendment, that regard must be had to the clear meaning of the words and that the matter should be governed wholly by the language of the notification, i.e., by the plain terms of the exemption." 23. Applying the above principles, we are of the opinion that since in the instant case the language of condition No.38 in the E ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ntention is very clear. Prior to budget 2012, customs duty exemption was not available on road construction equipment imported under a contract awarded by a Metropolitan Development Authority. 5.9 This statement given by the Government at the time of extending the benefit to the metropolitan development authority is very relevant for interpreting the notification and needs to be given due to weightage and consideration. In the case of K.P. Varghese vs. Income Tax Officer [1981] 131 ITR 597 (SC), the supreme Court, based on the earlier judgment in the case of Baleshwar Bagarti vs. Bhagirathi Das [1908] ILR 35 Cal 701/703 expounded the principle of administrative construction, i.e. contemporaneous construction placed by administrative or executive officers charged with executing a statute, as follows:- "It is a well-settled principle of interpretation that courts in construing a statute will give much weight to the interpretation put upon, it, at the time of its enactment and since, by those whose duty it has been to construe, execute and apply it." 5.10 In the case of Collector of Central Excise, Guntur vs. Andhra Sugar Ltd. 1988 (38) ELT 564 (SC, the hon'ble apex Court rei ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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